Modernity and Its Malcontents - Ritual and Power in Postcolonial Africa

Chapter 1: IntroductionJean and John ComaroffPart I: (Re)visions of Power, Ritual (Trans)formationsChapter 2: Narratives of Power, Images of Wealth: The Ritual Economy of Bori in the MarketAdeline MasquelierChapter 3: Chewa Visions and Revisions of Power: Transformations of the Nyau Dance in Central MalawiDeborah KaspinChapter 4: Government by Seduction: History and the Tropes of "Mounting" in Oyo-Yoruba ReligionJ. Lorand MatoryPart II: Moral Economics, Modern Politics, Mystical StrugglesChapter 5: The Moral Economy of Witchcraft: An Essay in Comparative HistoryRalph A. AustenChapter 6: Attinga Revisited: Yoruba Witchcraft and the Cocoa Economy, 1950-1951Andrew ApterChapter 7: Bloodhounds Who Have No Friends: Witchcraft and Locality in the Nigerian Popular PressMisty L. Bastian Chapter 8: "Open the Wombs!": The Symbolic Politics of Modern Ngoni WitchfindingMark AuslanderChapter 9: Black Stomachs, Beautiful Stones: Soul-eating among Hausa in NigerPamela G. Schmoll

Summary

What role does ritual play in the lives of modern Africans? How are "traditional" cultural forms deployed by people seeking empowerment in a world where "modernity" has failed to deliver. In this collection of essays, the authors address such concepts as modernity, ritual, power and history.

Product details

• Authors: Comaroff, Jean Comaroff
• Assisted by: Jean Comaroff (Editor), John L. Comaroff (Editor), Comaroff Jean (Editor), Comaroff John L. (Editor)
• Publisher: University Presses
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.11.1993
• EAN: 9780226114408
• ISBN: 978-0-226-11440-8
• No. of pages: 272
• Dimensions: 15 mm x 23 mm x 2 mm
• Weight: 425 g
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Politics; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries; Cultural Studies, Africa, Anthropology, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social